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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28902597">Like Branches on a Tree, We are Connected, But Different</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylphrena_Honors_Shardling/pseuds/Sylphrena_Honors_Shardling'>Sylphrena_Honors_Shardling</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>~Blood Makes Us Related, Love Makes Us Family~ [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(That is why he is in all of these works), Also short, And think about Tien, Author expores Hesina's feelings, Author thinks Oroden is precious, But she's awesome and gets to be recognized, Everyone hates Amaram, Everyone loves Tien, Gen, He needs comfort, I feel like Kaladin is willing to be a lot more open about feelings with his mom, Kaladin is sad, So she gets to snuggle Kaladin, Syl is only there for one line, That poor lady, and so does she, this is angsty, which is good</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:29:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28902597</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylphrena_Honors_Shardling/pseuds/Sylphrena_Honors_Shardling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hesina takes Oroden to go talk to Kaladin. After she thinks about how much she hates Amaram,  she and Kaladin snuggle. There is a little bit of crying involved.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hesina &amp; Kaladin (Stormlight Archive), Hesina &amp; Tien (Stormlight Archive), Kaladin &amp; Oroden (Stormlight Archive), Kaladin &amp; Sylphrena (Stormlight Archive), Kaladin &amp; Tien (Stormlight Archive)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>~Blood Makes Us Related, Love Makes Us Family~ [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Like Branches on a Tree, We are Connected, But Different</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They had six days until the champions would have to fight for the freedom or Odium. Hesina was not ready. She had not been ready to send her sons off to war seven years ago. She had not been ready to receive a letter of condolences over her fourteen year old son's death. </p><p>Hesina had practice doing things she was not ready for. So she prepared to visit her son. She prepared to send him off to war again. Hadn't he done enough? Hadn't he sacrificed enough for their country? </p><p>She remembered the things he told her on quiet nights when Oroden was safely tucked in bed, asleep. She would never forget them. And there were some people she would never forgive. </p><p>She would never forget what happened to Kaladin. She would never forget what that monster of a Brightlord did to her son. She would never forgive Amaram for what he had done. </p><p>Hesina would not forget that he had been branded by that man. She would not forget that he sentenced her child to be a slave. She would remember. Oh, she would remember. </p><p>Hesina would not take action against him. There were very few reasons that convinced her not to, the most prominent being that she did not know how. She did not know how to wield a knife. She did not know how to commit to such heinous acts and get away blameless. She did not know how to harm the dead.</p><p>She believed that life was sacred. She felt that it was wrong to kill. She would not have ended up married with Lirin otherwise. But she did not take it to the extreme the way he did. </p><p>Amaram had hurt her son. </p><p>Amaral had put up a facade that brought her son to trust him. He had used that to kill his friends. He had used her son's trust to brand him, to murder the people he cared for, to shatter his hopes. </p><p>No, Hesina would never forgive him. She would never forget him. She would never feel anything other than hate for him. Even though he was dead.</p><p>But she could look past the events of the past to help her son in the present. She could choose to spend her time with Kaladin instead of using it to think about Amaram. So she did. </p><p>She picked Oroden up and placed him in the sling over her neck. He was asleep, but he was used to being carried around in the sling. </p><p>Lirin was at work. He was often at work. He loved their son, but he had a hard time showing it. He always had, even before Kaladin was sent to war. Even before Tien was sent to war.</p><p>Hesina had a hard time showing her love, too. It was easier to give lessons through words and confidence than it was to physically be with people to guide them.</p><p>She would always regret that. She regretted not spending time with her sons. She regretted that she had not spent more time with Kaladin when he was younger. </p><p>She regretted all the time she had lost with Tien. She wished she had done more with him. She wished she had gone out to play with him more often. She wished she had talked about rocks with him.</p><p>She wished she hadn’t failed him.</p><p>She arrived at Kaladin’s door, so she knocked. It often took a few minutes for him to surface from his room. She wasn’t concerned. She waited. </p><p>Kaladin opened the door. His eyes were red, but most other signs of tears had been wiped from his face. Her poor boy. So strong.</p><p>She wished he didn’t have to be.</p><p>“Mom,” he greeted, his voice fragile, “would you like to come in?” </p><p>She smiled at him. “Thank you, Kaladin. I would.” Hesina walked in his room through the door he held open for her. </p><p>She looked around the room. It was sparsely decorated. There was a bed, which was made. The covers were wrinkled, though, so it was probably where he had been sitting. There was also a chair and a dresser. </p><p>Kaladin gestured to the bed, so she sat on it. He sat down next to her. He was sitting next to her, but not touching her. It made her heart ache. </p><p>She pulled him down to rest on her shoulder. She looped one arm around him. “Oh, Kaladin, I love you. Don’t you ever forget that, son.”</p><p>Kaladin felt tears come to his eyes again. A fresh wave of turmoil assaulted him. He hugged his mother back, careful to avoid squishing Oroden. “I… I love you, too Mom.”</p><p>His mother started crying. Kaladin realized that the last time he had said those words was years ago. He realized the last time he said those words Tien had been there. </p><p>He remembered Tien leaping at her and hugging her. He remembered following him and wrapping his arms around both of them. He remembered his father joining in last of all, a shock at the time.</p><p>It had been their last hug. </p><p>Kaladin let the tears fall. He allowed himself to cling tighter to his mother. He allowed himself to remember all the times that had passed like this. All the hugs they had. All the times she held him and comforted him.</p><p>He remembered the last time she held him. He must have been twelve. It had been nearly ten years ago. It was just as comforting to be in her warm embrace.</p><p>“I don’t want you to leave again,” she whispered.</p><p>He clung to her. “I don’t want to leave either.”</p><p>They cried on each other. “I don’t want you to have to fight! I don’t want you to die!”</p><p>Kaladin felt a wave of sadness. “I don’t want to die, either,” he replied. For the first time in years… possibly since Tien’s death, Kaladin realized that it was true.</p><p>He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live. He wanted to be around to hug his mother, to help his father, to hold his brother. He wanted to live, even though Tien was… dead.</p><p>Another wave of agonized sadness crashed into him. “Mom, I want you to know something, just in case… Just in case I don’t make it back.”</p><p>She looked up at him and smoothed some of the hair around his face. “You’re coming back, son.”</p><p>He tried to smile. “But if I don’t-” he stopped at her glare. “I don’t want to die without telling you this, Mom,” Kaladin whispered. </p><p>He thought back to Tien’s death. He thought back to seeing him on the ground, bleeding to the point Kaladin knew there was nothing he could do. He thought about his smile. He thought about that last storming smile that Tien made.</p><p>“What, Kaladin? I’m listening.”</p><p>“It’s about Tien. He-” Kaladin screwed his eyes shut. His voice was wavering and he knew there was no way to keep it straight. He kept talking. “He didn’t die alone,” he finished softly.</p><p>Kaladin watched as his mother burst into sobs. He had never seen her cry like that. “Oh, my little Tien.”</p><p>Kaladin wiped a few tears off of his face. “He wasn’t alone. And…”</p><p>This time Kaladin was the one who started sobbing. “He smiled, Mom.”</p><p>Oroden woke to their cries and joined in with them. His wails echoed in the stone room. The two adults forced themselves to stop crying. </p><p>Oroden crawled over to Kaladin and hugged him. He tried to smile at his brother but failed. Oroden sat on his lap for a while, content to fiddle with Kaladin’s shirt.</p><p>He eventually looked him right in the eyes. “Huugry.”</p><p>Kaladin’s smile became less fractured. He chuckled a little. “I suppose that I need to go feed him. I’ll come back tomorrow, okay Kaladin?”</p><p>He handed Oroden to his mother. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”</p><p>He walked them to the door. “Bye bye, Oroden. I love you,” he said. </p><p>“Wuv you, Kaaadin!”</p><p>He ruffled his hair, earning a squeak. “I love you, Mom,” he added in a softer tone. </p><p>She smiled up at him, tears in her eyes. “And I love you, Kaladin,” she replied, pulling him into another hug. He waved to them as they walked down the hall.</p><p>Syl fluttered over to him. “I’m proud of you, Kaladin.”</p>
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